Nail



y 0, 1941. w. G. LODGE 2,242,862

NAIL

Filed Sept. 2, 1938 awe/Wm "Golfer Glloclge,

Patented May 20, 1941 NAE Walter G. Lodge, Kokomo, Ind, assignor to Continental Steel Corporation, Kokorno, Ind, a corporation of Indiana Application September 2, 1938, Serial No. 228,247

(01. s 3o) v 5 Claims.

This invention relates to a nail, and pertains more particularly to a stub or blunt pointed nail for securing a thin sheet or layer of veneer in position, although same is not restricted to such use.

Heretofore, in veneering, viz: overlaying woods with a sheet or layer of a more valuable wood, it has been found that the use of a sharp pointed nail results in splitting the veneer due to the fact that the fibers of the latter are forced or spread apart. In order to overcome such result, the use of a blunt or stub pointed nail has been resorted to, and which l-atter results in crushing rather than separating the fibers of the veneer when the same is driven into position.

However, in the manufacture of veneered articles and also in the construction of crates, boxes or other receptacles, it is often found adv-ante.

geous to temporarily secure the nails to the material being worked upon before driving the same to their final or permanent position. In order to temporarily place the nails in the material at the position in which they are to be finally driven, it is the present practice to drive the same a substantial distance into the article being worked upon. The well known blunt pointed nail can be driven into any kind of wood without danger of cracking the latter, but due to the blunt point, same are not only difficult to seat, but under some conditions must be held manually until driven some distance into the wood. Consequent- 1y, if it is desired to remove the nails for any purpose, the veneer or wood is damaged.

In order to over-come the foregoing disadvantages and objections to the nails now on the market and to obtain the desired result, it is the primary important object of this invention to provide a nail of the blunt or stub pointed type which is so formed as to not only retain the nonsplitting feature but by providing a cutting edge or edges, same can be temporarily secured or tacked in position without causing the normal blunt entering end of the nail to damage or m-ar the surface of the wood being worked upon.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a nail of the above character which is so formed that the same may be seated by alight tap of a hammer, or in a good many instances, by the mere pressure of the thumb of the user.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a nail of the above character which is formed with an axially extending cutting point of a depth to temporarily hold the nail in position without the necessity of driving the normal entering end of the nail into the material.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a nail of the above character in which the normal entering end thereof is provided with an auxiliary cutting edge which is adapted to temporarily hold the nail in position in the material independently of the said normal entering end thereof.

Still another important object of this invention is to provide a nail of the above character in which the entering end of the nail is formed with one or more axially extending cutting surfaces.

A still further-object of this invention is to provide a nail of the above character which is of simple construction and one which may be readily and cheaply manufactured and placed upon the market at a reasonable cost.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will be readily apparent throughout the course of the following description and accom-' Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the nail as disclosed in Fig. 1,

Figure 3 is an enlarged bottom plan view of the entering end of the nail, and Fig. 4, is an enlarged side elevation of the entering end of the nail.

and head B. The present invention relates to the structure of the entering end, which generally is of blunt formation and which has a plurality of substantially like or similar surfaces I, here shown by way of example as four in number, which converge downwardly, the adjacent sides of the adjacent surfaces meeting to form axial cutting edges 2, 2, and 2, 2. These cutting edges likewise incline downwardly at an angle of substantially 43 to the longitudinal axis of shank A, and conjointly form a substantially cruel-form arrangement.

The extremity of the entering end is formed with a groove, or cut-out 5,'of substantially quadrilateral shape to provide two pairs of bottom edges 6, 6 in conjunction with two opposed of said axial edges 2, the edges 6 being of V-shape with their open ends a, confronting each other. The cut-out has ends of inverted V-sh-ape that extend through the bottoms of the other two opposed edges 2. Thus the cut-out in effect constitutes a groove that extends completely and (11-.

The nail as illustrated, has the usual shank A ametrically across the entering end of the nail, and has its ends 8 of inverted V-shape.

The V-shaped edges 6, provide cutting and crushing edges, and by virtue of their shape and confronting relation act to cut, crush, and draw the wood fibers together in the space defined by their open ends, without splitting of the wood.

The invention is of great value in shook and shook products, i. e. fruit and vegetablecrates and boxes, which are, as is well known, made of thin light and lower grades of lumber and are readily subject to splitting during nailing. With applicants invention splitting is overcome, consequently, unnecessary waste of use of new material, nails, and time in remedying splits by the use of additional nails, is eliminated.

In operation, and when it is desired to temporarily place the nail in a position to which it is to be finally driven, it is merely necessary to strike the driving head a light blow or, in a great many instances, to apply a slight pressure of the thumb thereagainst until the axially extending cutting surface formed on the blunt or stub pointed entering end is seated within the material being worked upon. This pressure need only be sufficient to cause the entrance and seating of the cutting surfaces within the material and with a nail constructed in accordance with the present invention, it is unnecessary to use pressure of such force which will cause the normal entering or blunt point of the nail to enter the material. After tacking the nail in position and if it is desired to remove same from the material for any reason, a slight pull thereon will readily disengage the nail from the surface of the material.

It is to be particularly noted that a nail formed in accordance with the present invention does not result in defeating the nonsplitting characteris tics of the blunt or stub pointed nail, and the latter will continue to act to crush the fibers rather than to separate or split same. Consequently, the improved nail is particularly adapted for working with thin sheets or veneers such as commonly used in the wood Working industry.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as the preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A nail having a shank provided with an entering end having four substantially like surfaces, the surfaces converging downwardly, the adjacent sides of the adjacent surfaces meeting to form four axial cutting edges, which are likewise inclined downwardly, the four edges, conjointly forming a substantially cruciform arrangement 1 in plan view, the extremity of said entering end being formed with a cut-out, which is of quadrilateral shape to provide two pairs of bottom edges in conjunction with two opposed of said axial edges, which bottom edges are of V-shape in plan with the open ends of the Vs confronting each other, the cut-out having ends of inverted V-shape extending through the bottoms of the other two opposed axial edges.

2; A nail in accordance with claim 1, wherein the axial cutting edges are inclined at substantially l3 to the longitudinal axis of theshank.

3. A nail having a shank provided with an entering end having faces which incline downwardly toward the center of the bottom of the enteringend, said end being formed with a diametrical groove which extends completely thereacross, and which is of a shape to provide the entering end with a pair of crushing and cutting edges of V- shape in plan with the open ends of the Vs confronting each other, whereby to cut the wood fibers and to draw same together in the space defined by the open end of the Vs.

4. A nail comprising awbody having a headed end and a tapered end, said tapered end having a downwardly facing substantially diametrically extending groove, the ends of the groove extend ing completely through thetapered end from side to side thereof.

5. A nail, :a piercing end on the said nail, four fiat converging faces on the said piercing end, a V-shaped recess in the said piercing end, and two tapering points formed by said V-shaped recess, the fiat converging faceSof said piercing end constituting the outer faces of said tapering points and the sides of said V-shaped recess constitut-' ing the inner faces of said tapering points.

WALTER G. LODGE. 

